Every person has a different story to tell. Scholars take a quick look at the book Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village. They discover that each character tells a different story. They then look at one...

Scholars read chapter two of World without Fish to learn more about the fishing industry. Learners discuss in triads what it means for fishing to become an industry. They then write the gist of pages 28-33 on sticky notes and answer...

Using their notes developed throughout the unit, class members prepare for the end of the unit assessment by writing a formal essay in which they "analyze how the author of The Autobiography of Malcolm X provides a conclusion that...

Here's a fresh approach to the dreaded personal narrative required by most college applications. The Autobiography of Malcolm X is the anchor text for a unit that, through modeling and guided practice exercises, encourages the...

Zoot suits, the Lindy hop, and conks. Readers carefully examine the rhetoric of chapter 4 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, analyze the effectiveness of using slang to develop a narrative, and consider how they might incorporate Haley's...

Readers use the provided worksheet to analyze the narrative techniques Haley uses in chapter 6 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X to continue the development of the central ideas of racial identity and systemic oppression.

As they read and discuss Chapter 7 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, class members continue to use the Tracking Tool worksheet to record evidence on how the central ideas are being developed.

Writers use class time to develop the draft of their personal narratives, drawing on techniques Haley uses in The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

Class members discuss Chapter 13 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X and use evidence from their character development worksheet to support an analysis of how Malcolm X and attitudes toward him and his teachings are changing.

Integration versus separation. Readers of chapter 14 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X examine Malcolm X's views on other Civil Rights leaders and their integration ideas. Class members also return to the narrative essay strand of the...

". . .the chickens have come home to roost." Chapter 16 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X is the focus of this lesson plan. Readers use their worksheets to record evidence of character development and Haley's stylistic choices that...

Using their annotations and questions developed as homework, class members discuss chapter 16 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the narrative techniques Haley uses to heighten the tension and power of the events at this turning point...

Class members return to the discussion of The Autobiography of Malcolm X using the questions they developed and their annotated notes of the events in chapter 17.

Connect with the text using helpful annotation strategies. As your class reads the first section of Karen Russell's short story, "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves," they note important passages that establish character...

How do writers develop a central idea in a text? How can readers identify this central idea? These are the challenges class members tackle as they continue their analysis of "Letter One" from Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet.

As a mid-unit assessment, class members demonstrate their understanding of the concepts covered so far by crafting a formal, multi-paragraph essay in which they analyze how Rainer Maria Rilke's word choices develop the meaning and tone...

Readers analyze David Mitchell's techniques for introducing and developing the mystery surrounding Madame Crommelynck in the "Solarium" chapter of his novel Black Swan Green.

What is the source and meaning of beauty? As part of their reading of David Mitchell's Black Swan Green, class members analyze Madame Crommelynck's conversation with Jason to determine how the conversation about beauty develops a central...

As a mid-unit assessment of a series of lessons that use Ethan Canin’s short story “The Palace Thief” as an anchor text, writers craft an in-class essay discussing how Hundert's character has developed throughout the text.

Is history "little more than a relic," as one of the characters in "The Palace Thief" contends? Has Hundert's love of antiquity kept him from changing with the times? Readers consider how the author uses these conflicting views to...

To conclude their study of Ethan Canin’s short story “The Palace Thief,” class members use their notes and annotations to craft an expository essay response to the prompt, "Analyze how the interactions between Hundert and the Bells...

The complex relationship between a teacher and his student takes center stage in an instructional activity that asks readers to pay close attention to how author Ethan Canin introduces his characters and how he develops the character of...

Is man's character his fate? Can actions change character? To track the development of the central ideas in Ethan Canin’s short story “The Palace Thief,” groups compare Hundert's actions in the original "Mr. Julius Caesar" competition...

Class members watch the clip of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet in which Benvolio persuades Romeo to go with him to the Capulet ball to see Rosaline. Pairs then examine Act 1, scene 3, lines 64–100, and consider how Shakespeare develops...